In the March quarter 2011, the trend estimate of total accommodation takings for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms increased by 0.5% to $2.073.8 million compared with the December quarter 2010.

Over the same period, the seasonally adjusted estimate decreased by 0.8% to $2,058.9 million.

ROOM OCCUPANCY RATE

The March quarter 2011 trend estimate room occupancy rate of 64.4% for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms was 0.1 percentage points lower than the previous quarter.

Over the same period, the seasonally adjusted estimate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 64.2%.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)

Release Date

June 2011

30 September 2011

September 2011

6 January 2012

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

This issue presents results from the March quarter 2011 Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) for the following categories of establishments:

hotels and resorts with 15 or more rooms

motels, private hotels and guest houses with 15 or more rooms

serviced apartments with 15 or more units

CHANGES TO THIS PUBLICATION

The STA PDF publication has been reduced pending a move to web format only from March quarter 2012. The table containing hotels, motels and serviced apartments by star grading has been removed from the publication as data are available in the data cube 8635.0.55.002 - Tourist Accommodation, Small Area Data, Australia.

IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS

Widespread natural disasters in the eastern states, particularly Queensland, have not adversely affected the quality of estimates in this release. Full details of impacts on response and imputation rates can be found in the Explanatory Notes.

The events are likely to have had some impact on small area data for March quarter 2011. However, as tourist accommodation is influenced by a range of factors, it is not possible to quantify the specific impacts of these events.

The ASGS will become the geographic framework for the STA from the March quarter 2012. More information about the ASGS and its introduction to the STA will be provided in the September quarter 2011 data release.

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.

SUMMARY COMMENTARY

ORIGINAL

Hotels, motels and serviced apartments

This summary contains key findings for original estimates. Original series are impacted by seasonal variations and irregular or non-seasonal influences. Comparison between quarters should be made with caution.

Accommodation takings

In the March quarter 2011, accommodation takings were $2079.6 million for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms.

Accommodation takings in the March quarter 2011 for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms were highest in New South Wales ($713.9 million) and Queensland ($470.8 million). The Northern Territory recorded the lowest takings for the period ($46.2 million).

For Australia, the March quarter 2011 average takings per room night occupied were $159.76 for establishments with 15 or more rooms. This was 3.9% higher than the March quarter 2010.

AVERAGE TAKINGS, by type of establishment - Australia

Room occupancy rate

The room occupancy rate for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms was 64.3% in the March quarter 2011.

Traditionally, hotels have higher occupancy rates than serviced apartments or motels. Over the March 2011 quarter, hotels had an occupancy rate of 69.8% compared with 66.3% for serviced apartments and 57.7% for motels.

ROOM OCCUPANCY RATE, Australia

Four out of the eight states and territories experienced an increase in the occupancy rate of hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms between the March quarter 2010 and the March quarter 2011. Western Australia (66.1%) experienced the largest increase (2.9 percentage points). Over the same period, occupancy in the Australian Capital Territory (70.4%) decreased by 9.8 percentage points.

Tasmania recorded the highest occupancy rate (72.5%) in the March quarter 2011 followed by the Australian Capital Territory (70.4%) and New South Wales (67.8%). Over the same period, the Northern Territory experienced the lowest occupancy rate (51.8%).

Room nights occupied Room occupancy rate

Room nights occupied were 13.0 million in the March quarter 2011 for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms.

New South Wales contributed the largest proportion (32.7%) of room nights occupied for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms, followed by Queensland (24.4%).

Average length of stay

The average length of stay over the March quarter 2011 for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms was 2.3 days. Queensland reported the longest average length of stay (2.8 days) followed by Western Australia (2.5 days) and Victoria (2.3 Days). Tasmania had the shortest average length of stay (2.0 days).